When I get tired of going for walks and seeing the same scenery in my own neighborhood, sometimes I'll go do an errand that requires driving farther away then I'll tack on a neighborhood walk over there. Walking on unfamiliar street looking at different houses and plants makes me feel like I'm on vacation.

On Fridays I pick up an egg sandwich from the local bagel place and sit in a pretty neighborhood nearby, just parked in my car on the street, and eat and listen to a podcast or music. Often I'll bring a notebook and do some writing once I finish the food. Just to like...exist somewhere that is not my house. When the weather is nice I find a park but through the winter it's just been straight up sitting in the car bay-bee! Lol.

The esteemed coffee shops of Urbana-Champaign

In the old times I'd go to my sorority house. Even though I'm not in the university any more, it's still a perfect mix of public and personal places: Not open to everyone, but I never know who else might show up and I don't have to constantly spend money to hang out there. We need more places like that where we could meet like-minded people, but also work and find entertainment if needed. Bars and cafes don't work here because people wouldn't talk with strangers.

I toodle about on my motorcycle.

The grocery store

I go for a walk, preferably at nearby trails, or I go wandering aimlessly around TJMaxx...not necessarily to buy anything but just to be out and about surrounded by things other than my four walls.

weather permitting - parks, coffee shops if they have outdoor seating (the volume of the music inside often bothers me), beer gardens. The library here is open and airy but not fully reopened for hanging out just yet.

I would love to go to parks, but it seems people have forgotten how to behave in public. Perhaps it's because they have been denied these places for so long that they now,think they are entitled to behave as if they own the,whole,space and can do anything they want no matter how much they annoy or endanger other people. The same goes for how people behave in their own back yards. They seem to have forgotten that their neighbors should have a right to peace and quiet and shouldn't have to listen to their noise.

My third place has been shifting after moving halfway across the country. In the past, it was a mom + pop sushi spot on Valencia Street in San Francisco called We Be Sushi. I'd sidle in with a book, plop down, and order two cheap rolls and a beer. The waitress knew me enough to tease any guys I'd bring in for dates, and the music was surprisingly hip thanks to one of the sushi-makers who moonlit as a DJ. One Hinge date said he recognized me from when he went to We Be with friends and found me intriguing because I was sitting there by myself with a book. (Main character interiority ftw.) Sadly most of my places centered around wherever I could get a beer and read by myself. Now I have a yoga studio out here in Austin? I'll let you know when I settle on something.